Tag Archives: gluten free

Easy Thai Coconut Curry Scallops with Jasmine Rice

A friend recently went to Vegas and was talking up a coconut curry scallop dish they had at the Bellagio. Well then all I could think about was coconut curry scallops so I needed to try out a recipe and see how things went.

I found this recipe on line that had ingredients I could tweak to make it paleo and gluten free. It was unbelievably easy to do. Just a couple of small tweaks is all you need sometimes. Which goes to show that very few recipes can be off limits to you if you just know what to substitute. The taste is the same, just better ingredients,

To make this recipe really easy as far as steps go, I chopped everything I needed first. This took about 10 minutes. It went fast. I put all the ingredients in their own little piles so I’d be ready for them in a snap. This dish cooked up in a little over 30 minutes and you’ll look like a kitchen ninja 🙂

Next I made the sauce. All I did was put in all the ingredients called for. No fancy schmancy crap, easy like weezy. While the sauce is simmering, salt and pepper the scallops.

After sauce has been cookin’, add your thawed scallops. Cook scallops about 3 minutes on each side. To test doneness, cut one open and make sure it’s white, not opaque. You don’t want to overcook the scallops though, they can get rubbery.

I made some jasmine rice to go with the scallops so if you do that, start it as soon as you start chopping the ingredients because the rice takes about 35 minutes. You could also use brown rice or quinoa, whatever floats your boat.

Sweet and Spicy Brussels Sprouts and Quinoa

I know, I know brussels sprouts aren’t everyone’s bag but I LURVVVVV them. There, I said it. That felt good. I like em plain with some ghee (butter) or fancy schmancy like this easy recipe.

I went to Sunday morning outdoor yoga this morning, took a beautiful walk with my doggie friend Truman then came home and whipped up this bad boy. I was actually craving brussels sprouts if you can believe it.

First I just trimmed up a pound of fresh organic sprouts and rinsed them really good and grated a little fresh ginger. While I was trimming up the sprouts and grating my ginger, I toasted the walnuts. By the time the nuts were nice and fragrant, my sprouts and ginger were ready for the pan. I’m all about multi-tasking. Note to self: next time I make this I’m going to chop up the brussels sprouts into smaller pieces. No reason in particular, I just like smaller pieces.

After the nuts toasted up nicely, I set them aside and heated up the coconut oil in the same pan. Then I added the brussels sprouts and ginger. Stirring frequently, I sauteed the sprouts until lightly browned.

Next I added the remaining ingredients except for the walnuts. Sauteed on low for 5 – 10 minutes until the liquid cooked off and thickened up coating everything.

Lastly, toss in your walnuts and give it a gentle stir. After making these, maybe you’ll crave brussels sprouts too because these ain’t your grandmas brussels sprouts. I love the mix of textures from the crunchy walnuts and quinoa. These would be great to bring for a holiday dinner or pot luck too.

½ cup cooked quinoa (I used a pre-cooked quinoa from Trader Joes but you can make your own too)

¼ cup vegetable broth

2 Tablespoons coconut oil

1 Tablespoon raw honey

1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice

2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon sriracha sauce (or more if you like a lot of heat)

1 teaspoon coconut aminos (can sub with soy sauce)

Instructions

If making your own quinoa, start cooking it first and by the time you need it, it will be finished. But if you are using pre-cooked quinoa like I did from Trader Joes, just heat it in the microwave and set aside until needed.

In a dry skillet, toast walnuts on medium heat. Stir often and toast for about 5 minutes until nice and fragrant. (While the walnuts are toasting, you can trim and wash your brussels sprouts and grate your ginger.)

In the same pan that you used for the walnuts, heat coconut oil, add brussels sprounts and ginger on medium-high heat. Brown brussels sprouts slightly (about 5 minutes), stirring occasionally.

Add the remaining ingredients (including quinoa) except for the walnuts.

Saute on low for 5 - 10 minutes. You want to cook off most of the liquid and thicken it up so that the sauce coats everything nicely.

Easy Greek Lemon Chicken with Olives and Artichoke Hearts

When I say this recipe is easy, I really really mean it. Not only is it easy but its paleo, gluten free and low carb. Not to mention, delicious.

I found this recipe at Beauty and the Foodie, a great food blog that I found recently. Check it out if you get a chance. I made a couple of changes to their recipe like using boneless chicken breasts and kalamata olives for example.

Start to finish, this delicious Greek chicken bake took less than an hour. And it really could not have been easier. Serve topped with some crumbled feta if that’s your thang or some lemon slices for some extra zing. Yum-may!

Full disclosure, when I was asked to make this for the family I cook for, I expected to just make it, serve it but definitely not fall in love with it. I’ve never been a seared ahi tuna type of girl. I’d have the occasional tuna sushi but had never tried a seared ahi tuna salad.

But while I was making this super easy yet gorgeous salad, I tried a piece because it actually looked really good. One bite and I was sold. I wasn’t a raw tuna fan but all that has changed after tasting this beautiful delicious salad.

This was so easy too and what a presentation. I bought the most beautiful ahi tuna steaks at Sprouts for under $7 a pound. I purchased 4 tuna steaks which was about 2 pounds but that will feed 4. One tuna steak per person is all you need for this gorgeous salad which is approximately $3.50 per person for a salad you would pay over $10 for at a restaurant.

I lightly seasoned each steak on both sides with a little salt and pepper, heated up some toasted sesame oil and seared for 1 minute on each side. That’s it, 1 minute!

I sliced up my beautiful tuna into approximately 2 inch pieces and placed them on top a bed of baby greens from Trader Joes.

The dressing was super easy to whip up too. I managed to make this masterpiece in under 30 minutes from start to finish, from unwrapping the packaging to laying it out all pretty on a plate. That’s it!

1 lemon (sliced to use as a garnish and to squeeze over salad for extra lemon flavor)

salt

pepper

CITRUS GINGER DRESSING:

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon raw honey

1½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1½ teaspoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon coconut aminos (can sub with soy sauce)

1½ Tablespoon lemon juice

4 Tablespoons fresh orange juice

Instructions

DRESSING:

Make your dressing first so all of the ingredients can get well acquainted while you are searing the tuna.

In a medium bowl, combine all dressing ingredients and whisk until honey dissolves and everything is well blended. Set aside.

SALAD:

Start by getting your orange and mango together. Peel and section the orange. You can run a small knife under the clear outer casing of each orange segment and gently peel it off revealing the raw orange segment, set aside.

Peel and slice small chunks of mango, set aside.

Peel and using your vegetable peeler, shave a cup of carrots, set aside.

Peel and slice avocado, set aside.

Place lettuce on your favorite plates and sprinkle with orange segments, mango chunks and shredded carrots.

Place avocado slices along the side of salad as a garnish along with a couple of lemon slices.

TUNA:

If your steaks are large, you can cut it in half. Each piece should be about the size of your hand from wrist to tip of fingers.

Heat sesame oil in a large pan over medium/high heat.

Generously sprinkle salt and pepper on each side of each tuna steak.

Once oil is hot, place tuna steaks in pan and let sear for about a minute on each side. If you prefer your tuna cooked longer, then go right ahead and let your freak flag fly and cook it longer.

Once seared to your preference, cut warm tuna into slices and lay atop of your lettuce.

I’ve never seen a more beautiful spring roll. It’s like a rainbow on a plate. They are almost a shame to eat. But one bite and you’ll get over it.

Just chop a bunch of fresh veggies and make the sauce.

Put your beautiful veggies on the rice paper and roll roll roll.

The sauce is super easy to make and amazing. It’s a tangy sweet and spicy sauce that makes the veggie flavors explode in your mouth. Love these beyond belief. Not to mention, you’ll totally impress your family and friends with these pretty little veggie rolls.

1 Tbsp arrowroot starch (if sauce needs thickening, add more starch a ½ teaspoon at a time until thickness is as desired)

Instructions

VEGGIE SPRING ROLLS:

Chop all of your veggies. Set aside individually in piles or in separate bowls.

Fill a large pie pan or deep, large bowl with a couple of inches of warm water. Submerge a spring roll wrapper and sink into water until completely covered, wait for it to soften for about 10 seconds, then place the sheet on a clean work surface like a cutting board.

Lay 2 strips each of red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper and 1 stick of jicama in the lower ⅓ section of each sheet, towards the center.

Add a little stack of shredded cabbage, carrots and 1 strip of green onion on top of the bell pepper pile.

Roll up spring roll half way, fold right and left sides of the wrapper in towards the center of the roll. Continue rolling upwards (away from you) until you get a completed roll.

Repeat process of dipping wrapper in water, filling with veggies and rolling up.

DIPPING SAUCE:

Steep a bag of oolong tea for 6 to 7 minutes. Let cool. Once cool, add arrowroot starch and stir until dissolved in the tea. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine remaining sauce ingredients. Heat on medium and bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, boil for a minute. Reduce heat to a simmer.

Stir the oolong tea/arrowroot starch mixture again and add to saucepan.

Bring to a boil again and stir constantly. The mixture will begin to thicken and turn slightly translucent.

*If mixture is not thickening enough for your preference, add a ½ teaspoon, stir until dissolved and continue boiling until mixture thickens up.